How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 1: 'The Putter' (1931) watch online HD

A Warner Bros. Vitaphone Short Subject

Bobby Jones, the world's greatest amateur golfer, gives valuable advice on how to improve one's putting skills.

This was the first in a series of short films in which Warner Bros. lured this all-American athletic hero in front of the cameras to reveal his playing secrets in an entertaining manner. Celebrities from the Studio's roster would be trotted out to interact with Jones; in this initial endeavor we see silent screen star Richard Barthelmess, comic actor Joe E. Brown, and character actor/playwright Frank Craven (best remembered as the Stage Manager in OUR TOWN, 1940). The poor sound quality is an annoyance in this early talkie, but not an insurmountable one.

Robert Tyre Jones, Jr (1902-1971) began playing golf at the age of six and was entering competitions at the age of fourteen. He triumphed in many of these during his short amateur career and became the only person in history to win golf's Grand Slam (British & American open and amateur tournaments) in one year, 1930. Shortly afterwards he retired at the age of twenty-nine. He never went pro and played only a few championships thereafter, but worked as a lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia. Jones helped organize the first Masters Tournament in 1934 in Augusta, Georgia. In 1958, Bobby Jones was created an honorary burgess and guild brother in Scotland's St. Andrews, the traditional birthplace of golf. Sadly, ill health and paralysis caused this remarkable sportsman to spend his last years confined to a wheelchair.

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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

Warner Brothers trots out two of their stars of the day - Joe E. Brown and Richard Barthelmess - to costar in an amusing little short showing famous golfer Bobby Jones teaching Frank Craven how to improve his putting after Craven is beaten by Brown at golf.

This little short would be very entertaining if it were not for the sound cutting in and out. The reason for this is that at this late date of 1931 this short was made using the sound on disc system which had been discarded by just about everybody in favor of sound on film the year before. Worse than that, Vitaphone is being used outside. The reason so many early talking films were so stage bound and shot indoors is that Vitaphone could be so testy in any environment other than indoors static shots.

That is also why you'll see no panning in this film. It consists of one static shot after another, probably involving multiple camera booths. If you know the history of the technology and recognize the stars or Bobby Jones, this will be interesting to you. Otherwise, you might not find it that engaging.

Bobby Jones was arguably the best golfer to ever play the game, and he never even turned pro. He retired from competitive golf after he won what was then called "the Grand Slam", four major tournaments in one year -- US and British Amateur plus the US and British Opens. In "retirement" from golf, these instructional films were superb and give us a fine glimpse of Bobby Jones the person, more relaxed than he ever was playing in tournaments.

Joe E. Brown, famous comedian, is featured. He is having trouble beating his regular golf partners because his putting is so bad. So Jones steps up and gives him a lesson. He shows Brown how to stand, how to grip the putter lightly, and make a smooth, wristy stroke. He doesn't do much to help him with reading the break or making sure of his alignment.

It is interesting to compare this to what is being taught today, much more mechanical in its approach. Bobby Jones was a "feel" player, and it comes across in his instructional films. What is refreshing here, the approach to make a little movie with a story, rather than just dry instruction. Bobby Jones was one of a kind!

How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 1: 'The Putter' (1931)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

First entry in Warner's series has gold legend Bobby Jones explaining how he plays golf (as the title says). In this entry, Frank Craven is losing bets to Joe E. Brown so Jones gives him a few pointers on the proper way to make puts. That's pretty much the only story we have here and this short is a rather mixed bag. On one hand, it's fascinating to see someone like Jones explain how he plays but then again the film does very little with it. The entire comedy bit with Craven and Brown just doesn't work and you can tell it was thrown together without too much thought. It's also clear that Jones and Brown didn't film their scenes together as the film always makes an excuse for them not being in the same frame. The most interesting aspect of this short happens early on when we're told who Jones is and we get to see countless newspaper headlines from the day. Seeing this old papers almost makes this thing worth sitting through.